Naspers Limited invests $75 million in Souq.com

Mar. 25, 2014 14:30

Souq.com logo

By THE CAIRO POST

CAIRO: Naspers Limited injected new investments worth $75 million in Souq.com, a leading online commerce company in the Arab world, increasing the latter’s total investments to $150 million, according to a statement released Tuesday.

Souq.com CEO Ronaldo Mashhour said they intend to direct the new investments to support the company’s technological aspects, according to the statement. “We will continue to focus on promoting the experience of online marketing through tablets and cell phones, offering our customers unprecedented shopping,” he said.

According to recent study conducted by Paypal, the Middle East region is one of the most promising and attracting markets for electronic commerce, with 100 million internet users in the region, according to the statement. The study also expects the value of online commerce to shoot above $15 billion by the end of 2015.

Mobile internet users in Egypt increased by 7 percent in the past year, according to the Internet for All study carried out by Nielsen, a global information and measurement company.

The last three years witnessed a 41 percent increase in mobile internet users in Egypt. They were 15 percent in 2011, 21 percent in 2012, and finally 27 percent this year, according to Nielsen’s study.

The United Arab Emirates-based Souq.com already has units in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

Souq.com revealed new marketing applications for Apple and Android cell phones on Feb. 19, according to a press release. The applications can be downloaded from Google Play and Apple Store centers, Souq.com’s director general Omar El-Salhy noted in the statement.

The statement said that the new applications will provide 400,000 advertisements of electronic devices, fashions, utensils, and beauty products.